ANXIOUS BENCHES AND AWAKENINGS
Recently I was thumbing through the 1858 edition of The Life and Labors of the Rev. Daniel Baker, D.D., Pastor and Evangelist. Most of us think of Baker as one of the founders of Austin College and one of its early presidents.
Although there is much more to tell about this man’s very rich life than
there is space available here, a few aspects of his life will be mentioned. In the early 1820s Baker served as pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. where both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson were members. In 1828 he left there to go to Savannah, Georgia where he served as pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church. He also served pastorates in Frankfort, Kentucky and Tuscaloosa, Alabama before heading to Texas in 1839 to serve as an evangelist.
It was in reading some of his letters while he was in Savannah that I came across a phrase that caught my attention. In a letter dated August 12, 1830, Baker wrote, among other things, “I have made an appointment for an anxious-meeting, to be held to-morrow afternoon. Whether any will attend, I cannot say; I bless the Lord, however, for any thing encouraging” (pp. 134-5).
I have discovered that in the 19th century when revivals were popular and were held both inside churches and in the open air, there would often be an “anxious bench” placed at the front of the gathering. A person who was particularly anxious about his or her spiritual life could sit there and be addressed by the preacher and have prayers offered over him or her. Occasionally, a person would experience a conversion.
Another term that surfaces occasionally throughout Baker’s narrative and letters is “awakening.” We have heard of the Great Awakening which refers to the spiritual revival that took place in New England in the 1730s and 1740s and is described by Jonathan Edwards. The Second Great Awakening is attributed by church historians to the revivalism of the 19th century with Barton Stone and Charles Finney among its leaders. Some have described the rise of the social gospel movement in the late 19th and early 20th century as a kind of third Great Awakening.
Baker uses the term “awakening” to describe a person’s sudden and overwhelming awareness and conviction of God’s love, grace, and mercy in his or her life. It is more than intellectual assent; it is a personal experience that God loves that person unconditionally and in spite of that person’s sinful and disobedient nature. Furthermore, that awakening to God’s grace necessarily leads to a changed life and attitude towards oneself and others, a life lived with a new sense of hope and joy.
While there is more than enough anxiety going around today, both inside and
outside the church, that we may not need an “anxious bench,” and while much of the 19th century revivalism may have revolved too much around the individual, it does seem to me that the church today could stand a strong dose of “awakening.” We need to awaken from the sleeping sickness of seeking conflict and blame in matters that, in the long run, are more of our own making than of God’s. We need to awaken from the sleeping sickness of self-righteous indignation that presumes to judge others when we ourselves are just as sinful in ways we would just as soon not admit.
We need to practice the virtue of humility which is demanded of all who ultimately stand – or kneel – before God. We need to awaken from the sleeping sickness of focusing on what is best for the individual rather than the whole.
As we make history today, may we re-discover our ongoing need for God’s unconditional love and grace. And in that discovery may we extend it to others, seeing and treating others as brothers and sisters in Christ. There is simply too much to do in this world for the cause of Jesus Christ to spend the life God has given us quarreling among ourselves and accomplishing nothing. May the history we make bring honor to him who is Lord, Savior, and Head of the Church, Jesus Christ. |
